He'll Be Back At Christmas Time
by xblueflowerx
Summary: Misty can't get herself into the holiday spirit and as the big day draws near she worries she won't get her Christmas wish. Pokeshipping family oneshot


_Christmas oneshot :)_

…

Misty sighed deeply, her breath leaving condensation on the cold window pane that she stared out of. The snow falling thick and fast, covering the once green grass with a layer of white.

Ash had gone again, the pull of travelling too strong but he'd promised that he'd be back for Christmas, he'd given her his word. And yet, here she was on Christmas Eve without him.

She should have known, she shouldn't have expected him to be back. It was foolish to let herself believe his words but she had, and now she stood in her home disappointed. Desperately missing the one person she wouldn't have for Christmas.

She let her head fall forward, pressed against the cool glass, her eyes fluttering closed in an attempt to stop any tears.

She felt pressure on both sides of her hips, quickly pulling her back to reality, a wide smile forcing itself onto her lips.

"Hello my little angels." She smiled, looking at the twin mops of black hair by her waist, their father's eyes staring up at her.

"Why are you sad?" Jayden asked, tightening his grip.

"Don't be silly, I'm fine."

"No, Mummy was upset." Rhys shook his head.

"No I wasn't." She laughed but neither believed her, for a pair of four year olds they were surprisingly intuitive. Sighing in defeat Misty owned up to the truth behind her pain. "I'm just thinking about Daddy."

"But Mummy loves Daddy." Rhys commented.

"So you should be happy when you think about him." Jayden instructed.

"I just miss him." She smiled, bending down to their level.

"He'll be back soon." Jayden reassured.

"He told us he'd be here for Christmas." Rhys said. "He promised."

"You're right, he did." Misty pulled her two boys into her arms, holding them close and breathing in their familiar scent. "All we have to do is wait."

She felt her heart cracking slightly as her sons hugged her back, blissfully unaware of how unreliable their father could be.

"I have an idea." She said, pulling back from them. "Why don't we go and make some snowmen?"

"Can we make five?" Rhys asked, eyes widening in plea.

"Yeah!" Jayden nodded eagerly. "They can be me, Rhys, Mummy, Daddy and Pikachu."

Misty laughed at their excitement, bouncing slightly on their toes.

"I'm sure we have enough snow to make a snowman family." She giggled, ruffling their hair with each of her hands.

"Yes!" They exclaimed, hands making podgy fists.

"So go get dressed and we can go out in the snow." She instructed, standing up tall again.

"Okay!" They cried, running towards the stairs.

Misty smiled slightly as she heard the patter of footsteps upstairs, eagerly dressing to play in the fresh snow.

"Please come home Ash." She whispered, following her boys upstairs to get her own coat.

…

Misty smiled as she watched her boys, both concentrating hard on their snowman, trying to make them represent their family with difficulty.

"When Daddy sees them he'll smile." Rhys grinned, gently patting the snow that was meant to be Pikachu's ears.

"He'll think we're there to greet him." Jayden joined in.

"Won't he feel silly when he notices they're made of snow?" Misty questioned to their delighted giggles.

She couldn't tell them the truth, she didn't want to take away their childish innocence and hope. If they wanted to believe Ash would return she didn't have the heart to change it.

She felt her heart turn hard in slight anger, Ash never know how he hurt those who loved him. He wouldn't be there when their eyes glistened with tears, when they realised their father wouldn't be home for Christmas.

She wished he'd consider his family, put it before his journey but knew he never would. And if Misty were honest with herself she wouldn't have married an Ash who did. His passion, his dreams, his determination, his stubborn ways were the reason she loved him.

"Mummy!" Jayden shouted, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"We're finished!" Rhys exclaimed shaking her hand.

She turned towards the snow family, the crooked bodies, off central heads, the uneven stick arms. With a gasp she let her eyes widen, the corners of her lips turning up.

"Those are fabulous!" She breathed. "Got myself a pair of artists."

The twins smiled at her compliments, each grabbing a hand and pulling her towards the snowmen.

"This ones you Mummy." Jayden pointed.

"I can tell." Misty nodded. "And is that Daddy who I'm holding hands with?" She asked, gesturing towards the sticks touching.

"Yeah!" Rhys said, excited. "And that's me and Jayden and that's Pikachu on the end."

"Well don't we all look amazing?" Misty asked, smiling down at her eagerly nodding sons. "I have an idea." She said, bending down to meet their eyes.

"What?" They questioned.

"How about I take a picture of you two in front of the family and send them it to Daddy?" She suggested.

"But Daddy will see them tomorrow." Rhys frowned in confusion.

"I know, but they're too good for him to have to wait." Misty tried, still not being able to tell them the truth.

"Okay." Jayden smiled, accepting her explanation and dragging his brother towards the snowmen.

Misty took a step back and pulled out her phone, her smile faked throughout the whole exchanged.

"Smile boys!" She instructed before snapping a picture of them. "It's perfect."

Misty sent the picture towards Ash, silently typing away as her sons engaged in a snowball fight. Each giggle breaking her heart, knowing tomorrow the laughter would be gone.

_Hurry home Ash. _

She sent the message knowing he wouldn't see it, when he travelled it was rare his phone had battery and when he did there was no signal. She forced another smile and played with the boys, wishing for a moment she had an ounce of their optimism.

…

"Hello, Professor Oak speaking." A voice rang out down the phone.

"Hey Professor, it's Misty." She whispered, not wanting her conversation to be heard from upstairs, the buzz of excited voices floating down the stairs.

"Misty! What can I do for you?" The professor laughed.

"Have you heard from Ash?" She asked, desperate for any news on her husband's whereabouts.

"No I don't think so, I'm afraid." He mused. "I heard from him in the beginning of December and he said he was just leaving Lumiose City."

Misty sighed at his answer, if he'd been there less than a month ago there was no chance he'd return. Even if he'd headed home as soon as he'd spoken to Professor Oak he'd still be pushed for time.

"Thank you anyway." She responded weakly.

"Is everything okay?" He questioned, concerned.

"Yes, fine. It's just…" She started only to be cut off by gentle voices calling to her.

"Mummy!"

"We're ready."

"Coming!" She shouted back, turning back to her phone conversation. "I'm sorry, I've got to go."

"Of course, I understand. Merry Christmas Misty." He smiled.

"Merry Christmas Professor." She said, hanging up the phone and running up the stairs and into her sons' room.

"Have you brushed your teeth?" She asked, bringing the covers up to their shoulders.

They both nodded eagerly as she gave them a good night kiss.

"Now get to sleep quickly so Santa can come." She smiled, walking towards the light.

"Mummy?" Rhys asked, her hand freezing above the switch.

"Daddy's not coming home is he?" Jayden asked, his voice sounding small.

Misty felt her heart breaking, the disappointment waiting for them was creeping closer but yet she still pushed it off. A small glimmer in heart knowing Ash could pull through, despite how much her cynicism tried to push it down the fire still burned.

"He promised didn't he?" She questioned, turning back to face the room.

"But he said he'd be here by Christmas Eve and he's not." Rhys said, tears glistening in his eyes.

"It's not over yet, he still has time." She reassured.

"You always told us it's dangerous to walk at night." Jayden pouted.

"I know, but when does Daddy ever listen to what I say?" She laughed, smiles soon replacing the look of sadness on her sons' faces. "I think if you wish extra hard Daddy will be home, Santa will make sure of it." She winked.

They both gasped in excitement before closing their eyes, determined to fall asleep before Santa arrived. With a quick flick the room fell into darkness and Misty snuck out, quickly walking across the hall and silently shutting herself into her room.

She threw herself on her bed, punching at the pillow her husband used. The smell of him lingered and it provided her with satisfaction as her hands pounded the soft fluff, tears she'd been holding back all day streaming down her face.

She pulled the pillow up to her face and let out a muffled scream, knowing her sons were too far away to hear anything and question her actions. She let out all the tension, all the anger, all the frustration that had been building up over the past few weeks.

She'd lied to everyone. She'd said she didn't mind him leaving the family for his dream but deep down she never wanted to let him go. She'd promised he'd be back on Christmas morning but she knew they'd be woken up to disappointment. She'd constantly reassured that she was fine alone but inside she was broken.

Slowly she pulled the pillow into her arms, breathing in his scent as she let her body rest. The smell soothing her because despite all he did she could never hate Ash.

…

"Mummy wake up." A soft voice whispered as she was slowly shook awake.

Raw eyes from tears were prided open to see brown orbs glistening down at her.

"Boys, it's too early. Go back to bed." She moaned, rubbing her head.

"But Santa's here." Rhys quietly exclaimed.

"We can hear him downstairs." Jayden smiled.

"What?" She asked, bolting up in bed, eyes wide with fear, knowing it was most definitely not Santa downstairs.

"Can we go see him Mummy?" Jayden questioned, slipping off the bed.

"No!" She shouted, both boys freezing in shock. "You're meant to be asleep, if he sees that you're awake he'll leave."

"With our presents?" Rhys asked, lips pouting.

"Yes, so you two go back to bed and I'll go downstairs to check." She said, getting off the bed and gently ushering the boys back to their room.

She took a deep breath before heading towards the stairs, treading lightly to not alert the intruder downstairs. She silently cursed herself for forgetting her pokéballs in the gym, leaving her completely vulnerable. With a small hop she missed out the creaky bottom step, glancing around the rooms to indicate where the stranger could be.

The sounds of stumbling and furniture being knocked over from the living room confirmed where the other person was. Grabbing the vase of flowers she slowly edged towards the room, hoping to get away unharmed.

"Who the hell puts a table in the middle of the room?" A voice hissed.

Misty froze in the doorway, she recognised that voice but it couldn't be. Could it?

The figure turned around, the moonlight seeping through the window lighting up their face. Misty gasped in surprise, the vase falling from her grasp, loudly shattering across the floor.

"Hey Mist." Ash smirked, taking a step closer to her. "Miss me?"

Unable to make any words Misty threw herself at him, the pair falling back onto the sofa in a tangle of limbs and lips.

"I'll take that as a yes." He laughed between kisses.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, sitting up on his lap.

"I promised didn't I?" He shrugged, reaching up for his wife's cheeks.

"Mummy?" A voice called out, creaks down the stairs as they journeyed.

"Is it Santa?" A second voice asked as Misty climbed off Ash and pulled him to his feet.

"Not quite." She smiled, glancing over her shoulder to see their sons edging into the room.

"Hey boys." Ash said, dropping down onto his knees.

"Daddy!" They shouted, running across the room and into his open arms.

Misty smiled as she watched Ash effortlessly stand tall, a boy on each hip peppering his cheeks with kisses.

He'd done it, he'd kept his promise and made it home for his family. As much as he loved to travel Misty never saw him light up as much as he did around his sons, his eye shone with adoration that she'd never seen before, a love so strong no amount of distance could break it.

"Alright, I think it's time you went back to bed." Misty said as Ash placed them back on the floor, her eyes overly aware of the clock on the wall showing 3 o'clock.

"But Daddy's here." Rhys whined, gripping onto one of his legs.

"We don't want to sleep yet." Jayden protested.

"Okay, that's fine. But Santa hasn't been yet and he won't do if you boys are awake. Daddy or presents?" She asked, a slightly smirk on her lips.

With a quick glance towards each other the boys settled on a choice.

"Presents!" They declared together, running out the room and back to their beds.

"How easily I can be cast aside." Ash joked.

"Well to me you being home is the greatest Christmas gift." She smiled, moving into his arms.

"Thanks." He grinned, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Merry Christmas Mist."

"Merry Christmas Ash." She managed to say before his lips captured hers.

For the rest of the night they made up for lost time, soaking up as much of each other's love as they could before their sons woke up.

The presents were set up at the last moment, the pair forgetting as they behaved like young lovers again but their sons didn't notice. Too excited by the family Christmas to question why their parents were so tired or the questionable marks on their necks.

…

_I know I've sort of disappeared but I'm back and I plan to do better in the New Year, no long absences :) and I'll update my stories soon_

_Hope you enjoyed it :)_


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